


Faultless

by Moongirl12121



Series: Blue Ghosts [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura pov, Canon Divergence, Crying, Hope, Hunk POV, I Tried, Kinda Poetic?, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Past Character Death, Past mentions of torture, Recovery?, Sad with a Happy Ending, Sorry Not Sorry, alternative end to Fade, bear with me, everyone grieves differently, ghost - Freeform, hunk pov made me cry, my style is odd, past mentions of suicide, switching POV, the happy ending is kinda sad, this made me cry while i was writing it, wait this is mainly hunk's pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-10
Updated: 2017-11-10
Packaged: 2019-01-31 09:41:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12679275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moongirl12121/pseuds/Moongirl12121
Summary: 2nd End to my work Fade! You don't have to read the 1st end to understand this, but you do have to read Fade to understand.It's too quiet in the castleship.The team grieves for Lance. The team hopes for Lance. The team cries for Lance.





	Faultless

**Author's Note:**

> As promised! This is the other end I mentioned on Flesh. This is not dark. Also, if you read Flesh and are now reading this, yes the beginning is the exact same as Flesh, but there is a point where it diverges from Flesh and becomes it's own thing.
> 
> This story did not end at all how I thought it would. Please, read and enjoy.

I was too stunned, I couldn't believe what my eyes were telling me. Floating in front of me was Lance. He was transparent, and glowed a soothing blue, but it was him. The same easy smile was on his face, just as I remembered it.

_"How?"_ I breathed, not really wanting to believe it. We had all grieved, most of the team was still grieving. In the heavy throes of it. If this was false, I couldn't be responsible for giving them any kind of false hope.

Lance's face darkened then, and so too did the entire astral plane we were on. I felt weight press in all around me. If I had needed to breathe here I would have been suffocated. _This is unnatural. He should not be able to influence this space, he should not be here at all._ Slightly panicked thoughts flit through my mind before Lance replied, his lips tight.

_"As I was fading out, Blue begged me not to leave her. So, I stayed._ " Lance paused here, glancing gratefully upwards, as though he would see Blue's metallic face hovering above him. " _She's been healing what Haggar did to my mind. I didn't want to reveal myself to anyone until I was better."_ He finished, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

He looked nervous, curled in a little on himself, just floating before me. He looked as though he would like to be somewhere else entirely.

" _The Blue Lion has merged your Quintessence with hers?"_ I asked, bewildered. This was unheard of. No other Paladins of Voltron had ever done such a thing. Their bond was deeper than even the Blue Paladin that had created the first bond. _In this manner however… it is disturbing._

Lance shrugged, not seeming to know the answers himself. " _I've been wishing I could talk to you all. Just listening through the bonds isn't as solid as you might think,"_ he tried to joke, but his words only caused a spike of shock to shoot up my spine, straightening it faster than my former tutor on Altea could when entering a room.

" _You are able to listen to the other lions? Able to hear their thoughts?"_ I asked eagerly. It made sense in a way. He was merged with the Blue Lion, and she could understand the other Lions. It would stand to reason they could all hear the other Paladins thoughts on some level. It would help in stabilizing Voltron at the very least.

Lance merely nodded his head this time, uncurling himself a little bit. The atmosphere changed instantly back to something lighter, and I felt myself relax.

" _That's amazing Lance! The team, they'll be so happy to know that you aren't- you aren't gone."_ I gulped, a lump forming in my throat as the memories of when we found him flashed through my mind.

Lance winced as though he could see into my own mind, which, thinking on it, he probably could. I was connected to the Blue Lion now, and he was part of the Blue Lion.

" _I'm still not fixed though, so I shouldn't try to extend myself anywhere else. Blue doesn't want me to accidentally infect the castle or other lions or anything,"_ Lance grinned brokenly, looking down at his hands.

I noticed for the first time that he didn't look quite right. Blinking, I saw the numerous cracks in his form, and the dark purple that stained his hands and a splotch underneath the collar of his shirt.

" _Infect?_ " I asked for clarification's sake.

He flinched, closing his eyes tightly. _"Like with that Galra crystal. I've got that inside me, and Blue hasn't finished cleaning it from me yet. I can't contain it very well, so if I were to be installed today, I could destroy everything. It's best if I'm like this for now._ " Shrugging, I could tell Lance was forcing himself to stay calm.

My heart broke for him, that he was essentially trapped within his own lion until she could cleanse him.

" _You know, I'm sure Pidge and Coran could help. They were instrumental in cleansing the ship's systems. I know they could help you._ " I suggested, clutching at my elbows. I couldn't stand to see him like this, the memory of his broken body still too fresh.

_"I don't want them to see me like this."_ Lance replied simply, not looking at me anymore. _"I should send you back now. I don't want to have an episode in front of you."_ Sighing, the former Blue Paladin waved his hand, and the astral world melted away.

…

I opened my eyes, and I was back in Blue's cockpit, alone. Jumping up from my seat, I raced out of her and her hangar, making a beeline for the bridge. _Everyone must know that Lance is still with us._

Meeting no one on the rush up, I wasn't surprised to find the bridge empty as well. They were all off doing their own things, training, cooking, cleaning, or fixing. I opened a comm link to the entire castle, and paused. I couldn't tell them over the loudspeaker, but would they all heed my call?

"Attention? Would everyone join me on the bridge as soon as possible? There is something I must discuss with everyone." I requested carefully, making sure I didn't sound excited or panicked, just neutral.

Waiting was excruciating. As each Paladin arrived they asked what was going on, and I had to fight the urge to tell them. Instead I waved them off, waiting until Coran and Pidge walked in together, discussing some aspect of the ship they were going to update next.

"Thank you for gathering so quickly," I fidgeted, clasping and unclasping my hands in front of myself, and then behind. Everyone was staring at me, some impatient, others merely curious. "I have some news that I am not sure how everyone will react to," I continued, meeting each of their eyes.

The diplomat inside threw up her hands, and I smiled. "Lance is still with us," I stated, watching the expressions shift.

Several flitted through pain and anger, hope being the least common emotion streaking across their expressive faces. Keith settled on anger and annoyance, stepping forward, a snarl on his lips.

"Princess, I know you're not human and all, but that isn't funny. Not to mention I'm pretty sure none of us here believe in _ghosts_." Keith spat, arms crossed angrily, protectively across his chest.

Shiro gently touched his shoulder, drawing Keith's attention away from me. My heart ached for the both of them, and I hastened to correct myself.

"I know that, I apologize, I misspoke." Taking a deep breath, I explained what I had discovered. "As Lance was… dying, the Blue Lion begged him to stay, and he did. Currently, his Quintessence is merged with the Blue Lion while she heals the damage done by Haggar. He is not done healing, but he was greatly saddened by what he saw of us, and could not bear to keep himself secret any longer. Once the Galra poison has been cleansed from his Quintessence, we can detangle him from the Blue Lion, and… we can bring him to the holodeck, and everyone can see him," I explained, hugging myself as memories of sitting in the holodeck with my father flashed behind my eyes.

Hunk began to cry, coming forward and grasping me in a bruising hug. Shocked, I grasped back, eyes carefully going over Coran and the other Paladins. Keith had turned into Shiro's embrace, both of them holding each other. Shiro had silent tears running from his closed eyes. Pidge and Coran were speaking with glances, and promptly left, most likely to inspect the Blue Lion and see if they could help.

_Lance will be with us again._

…

Pidge and Coran did their best to speed up Lance's healing process, connecting the Blue Lion to several programs they could upload into her system to try and ease her strain. It did help, but the cleansing still took several weeks, and in that time Lance made no appearances to anyone.

I began to fear that the entire team thought I was lying to them. Keith and Shiro’s edgy glares in the direction of me or Blue too much sometimes.

When I woke one morning to Blue purring in my mind, I knew it was time.

**HUNK’S P.O.V.**

I hadn’t stayed in my room for a while now, it was too close, and too quiet. Missing Lance was a physical pain in my body almost. This hope that he was still there, inside Blue, was too much for me to handle.

No one knew where I stayed now since I was always in the kitchen first, making meals that didn’t really make me happy or relaxed anymore. Everything I did seemed painful now. Everything was just a reminder of who I had lost. Sure everyone had lost Lance, but we had known each other for so long, and so well… to say it was the same would be lying.

I practically lost my _brother_. I did lose family.

Allura’s words had sparked something inside me, but I had no way of knowing how true it was or not. Pidge and Coran had hooked up machines to Blue, in the hopes of clearing out the Galra virus from Lance, but he hadn’t shown up to either of them, and they couldn’t really find anything that indicated _him_.

I kept myself quiet though, at night tinkering with the machines and their code, biting back against the hope of what I was doing. Once I had looked up and seen glowing yellow eyes peering down at me, Blue scaring the hell out of me. Or had it been Lance?

Anxiety ate away at me as the weeks passed and Lance still wasn’t ‘healed’ or whatever it was that was wrong with him to where he couldn’t show himself. I couldn’t focus on anyone else, it was too much effort and consumed me in a way I didn’t like. I had to help Lance, how could I focus on how broken we all were?

…

“Hunk, Allura says it’s time,” Pidge said softly, their voice breaking through my mindless cooking that I had fallen into.

Flinching, I dropped what I was holding as though it had burned me. Which was possible, I wasn’t really paying attention to what I was making. Examining my hands for a moment to make sure they were fine, I silently followed the youngest Paladin to the hangar for the Blue Lion.

We were the last to arrive, everyone gathered around the machine I had seen when we had had Sendak as prisoner. The one that could store consciousness. My breathing shallowed out and I was afraid to move closer.

“Hunk? Would you like to attach it?” Coran offered gently, hands lifting from the device and stepping back. He obviously didn’t think I would refuse, and I didn’t think I would either,  but I just stood there, staring fearfully up at the giant space war machine that had started this entire thing.

The space was silent, waiting for something to happen. I didn’t know what I wanted to happen. _Should I just go and attach it?_ I waited to long, and watched as Coran moved, placing the correct parts on the paw of the Blue Lion.

Almost immediately the device lit up, blue gleaming inside the tank. Green was added to the mixture and I wanted to cry.

_Lance_.

…

It felt like an agonizing amount of time passed as well all watched the tank fill up slowly. Anxiety burned in my gut, my hands twisting in the hem of my shirt, diving into my pocket to grab out wires to fiddle with.

Allura was smiling gently at the canister, as though she didn’t have a care in the world. I felt ashamed for resenting that, for her peaceful face annoying me. How could she be so calm? Lance’s very _soul_ had been corrupted by Druidic magic, and almost the exact same thing had happened to the AI of her father. How could she not be worried?

Angrily swatting away the pesky thoughts, I broke the silence that was too oppressive. “So, I’ve only seen this done once, and nothing even happened since Sendak was a dick and didn’t want to give us anything- so how long is this supposed to take? How full does the tank have to be? What if it’s too full and doesn’t work right and Lance is lost? What if it isn’t full enough?” My panicked thoughts overflowed, but with no easy joke to stop them, or firm smack on the back to ground me, nothing seemed to be enough by myself.

The reminders only made things worse.

Pidge cut in, their voice not the soothing I needed to hear. _I miss Lance_.

“We’re almost done big guy, Lance is just the right size, don’t worry. Once fully installed in the canister, we’ll take it to the holodeck and download his Quintessence into the ship. He’ll be able to show himself from there.” Pidge adjusted their glasses as they spoke, looking back down to the readings coming from their laptop which was hooked to the machine.

The tension in my shoulders didn’t ease, but I was at least able to shut myself up, if only for Shiro and Keith’s sake. They were huddled together, their eyes unblinking on the canister that held all that was left of Lance. The pair looked haunted, hollow eyes following the movements of the softly glowing blue energy.

Pidge muttered a soft ‘done’ and Coran had Allura help in carrying the tank to the holodeck. The three of us left behind just stared for a moment before following. By the time we arrived, Coran was finishing up installing the tank.

“Now, all that’s left is to have his Quintessence loaded into the ship. Take a step back everyone, just for safety of course,” He cautioned, fingers flying over a console at the foot of the tank. I took a step closer, completely ignoring him.

A bright blue glow lit up the room for a moment before the blue in the tank began to drain away, pulsing with a beautiful light. Once it was gone we all waited for something to happen. Coran and Pidge looked at each other, one alarmed, the other crestfallen.

“What happened?” Shiro’s voice was soft but held authority.

I felt my heart cracking as the moments dragged on and no one said anything. Allura was starting to look desperate, her eyes darting around the room as though she would find Lance floating somewhere. We all stood for a while more, then Shiro and Keith left, followed closely by an apologizing Allura.

I sat down heavily, unable to hold myself up anymore. Everything was too tiring, and even with Pidge clicking furiously away at keys, it was too quiet. Eventually it was just Pidge and I, Coran having left to resume his duties with a quiet ‘sorry’ directed at the both of us.

It didn’t take me long to notice Pidge was crying, their quiet sniffles not quiet enough in the silence of the empty room.

“I thought it would work, why didn’t it work?” They mumbled, scrubbing angrily at their eyes underneath the large glasses.

Moving automatically, I came and hugged them. Pulling them away from their laptop, I made Pidge join me in just sitting. I felt emptier than before, this probably wasn’t healthy coping with grief. People mourned sure, but I hadn’t expected myself to be the type that would completely shut down. Then again, Lance had seemed to always be the one to lift me up in situations like these.

“Come on Pidge, let’s gather everyone back here. We should do a memorial since we didn’t at… at Lance’s funeral we didn’t say anything. Now that there’s nothing…” I stopped, gulping, “We should celebrate him.” I stated firmly, hauling Pidge up with me.

Striding confidently from the room, I found everyone, and forced them back to the holodeck with me, despite Keith’s mumbled threats. Pidge was still standing there, looking a little dazed as they stood there.

“Lance was my best friend, I loved him like a brother. He always made places feel like home, whether we were at the Garrison, or here in the Castle of Lions. He was a brave and loyal paladin, and I’m going to miss him for the rest of my life,” I had to pause, realizing I was gulping past a lump in my throat. “Lance always tried to make everyone feel better, even at the expense of himself. I’m going to remember him for the rest of my life.” I stated out, stepping back from the circle I had stepped in.

Pidge lurched forward as though they had been pushed, but they merely adjusted their glasses and looked around at us. Tears gleamed in their eyes, and they had to wipe them several times before they could even begin.

“Lance was my Space Brother™, and maybe my space mom? He fussed at me to eat my food, and would actively seek me out at late hours to make sure I got sleep. He helped me feel comfortable around everyone, helped me relax. Lance was a lovable idiot, and damnit I loved him so much. It’s been so painful without him, but we need to honor his memory, and find humor in this darkness.” Pidge looked around, wiping away more tears. “I’ll miss him, I’ll remember him too.”

Coran stepped forward, nudging Pidge back. “You Earthlings are strange to me, or at least, you were. The first person I interacted with after 10,000 years of cryo-sleep was Lance. Even as I was being ridiculous about attacking, he shot right back, just as ridiculous. I knew Altea was gone, I knew my home was forever lost to me, but Lance… he made this battle ship so less lonely. He listened to my stories, sought them out even. Told me some of his own. I loved him like the son I never had, like the child I lost.” Coran fell silent, rubbing his face with a hand, mustache wilting.

“I miss him so much, I don’t think I could ever stop missing such a bright young lad. I won’t forget him. Nothing could make me forget everything he did for Voltron, for the Universe, for this team… for this family.” He finished quietly, stepping back.

“I thought he hated me,” Keith strode forward, hands clenched angrily at his sides. He wasn’t looking at anyone, glaring daggers at the ground. “He made fun of me, yelled at me, taunted me, tried to bring me down, riled me up just to fight. He drew me into this space family, he gave me motivation, he lightened the load on my shoulders even though that usually meant offering himself up as fodder for my anger. He showed me such openness, such raw feelings it was overwhelming. Even possessed he fought, but in the end his light was too dim, too much water had been poured over it. Ironic I think,” Keith chuckled humorlessly, bending over to curl in on himself a little.

“I loved him so much, I didn’t think I could have love for one person, let alone two. He was the brightest of us, and he was snuffed out because the enemy _knew_ it would cripple us. I don’t want to keep going without Lance,” Keith was crying, kneeling on the ground in front of the empty tank, choking on his words. “I want to curl up and join him so I’ll stop feeling so _angry_ at the universe for taking him from us- from _me_!” He shouted, sounding as though he was about to have a complete meltdown.

Shiro and I moved forwards to comfort him, our hands resting on his shaking shoulders.

“I love him, I couldn’t be made to forget!” Keith spat, tensing his entire body before going lax in Shiro’s hold. I stepped back, allowing Shiro the floor.

He looked down at his first lover that was currently sobbing quietly into his shirt, staining it with saltwater. Shiro looked so uncertain, and he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

“I was dating Keith for a long time, but from the moment I first saw Lance I knew he was beautiful. Blinding. Then he opened his mouth and the appeal dropped a bit,” A weak laugh was met with the joke. “I brought it up with Keith, and at first Keith didn’t like the idea of including Lance in our relationship. But after a while, Keith saw what I had, and probably fell just as hard as I did.”

Pausing, Shiro gulped, eyes still closed. “Fuck, I loved him. It was a burning feeling I couldn’t control, I felt like I was safe around Lance. Lance was the only safe thing in this insanely dangerous war. He was the Earth sun, and his eyes were the oceans that he grew up next to. I wanted to be there with him and Keith on his hometown beach, meeting his family, owning a house there, growing old together, everything. Keith and I… we’ve never had much family. Lance was a promise of family, of never being alone, no matter what. That video…” his voice choked off and I couldn’t blame him, silent tears rolling down my own cheeks as Shiro took a shuddering breath.

“That video almost destroyed me. I will always love Lance, I’ll always remember and miss him. When this war is over, and Zarkon is dead, Keith and I will bring Lance’s remains home to his family. They should know everything, every moment Lance was a hero.” Shiro stepped back, taking Keith with him.

All that was left was Allura. She looked nervous, stepping forward cautiously as though we would crucify her for giving us false hope.

“First, I want to apologize to all of you. He was there, but I do not… I do not know what has happened. Second, I admired Lance. He kept a cool head, even when it looked as though he was panicking, his grip never wavered. He was the perfect Blue Paladin, exactly as I remember the last one being,” She paused to chuckle, “The previous Blue Paladin was quite the flirt too.” Gaze shifting down to her clasped hands, she bit her lip.

“I didn’t like his flirting with me, but it was a distraction. He always knew when I was overworked, when my thoughts were overwhelming. Lance knew where my reset button was, knew just what to say. His prowess in battle will be missed, he often had plans that were so cunning… they never could have been guessed. We lost an accomplished Paladin… and a dear friend. I will miss and remember his legacy, and help to tell his brave story.” Her voice was strong, and I nodded at the end of it.

Nodding more, I stepped forward again, stopping at a funny feeling I had.

_“I love you guys too, I miss you,”_ his image was distant, and faded as soon as he finished speaking, Lance’s smiling face radiant.

“Pidge?!” I yelled, turning to face the youngest of us. “What happened?”

Pidge shrank back, and I took a deep breath, trying to cool down. Hope erupted like lava inside my chest, filling me with warmth.

“The castles systems…” Pidge looked like they were going to cry again, and the lava immediately cooled to stone, swept with arctic air. “They thought Lance was an invasive virus. They erased him completely, his Quintessence was too alien. We thought it wouldn’t be an issue since he was bonded to the Blue Lion still.”

I closed my eyes, forcing myself to breathe through the crushing depression that felt heavier than Voltron himself.

“Good,” I heard myself saying. “Now we can’t lose him like we lost King Alfor. It wouldn’t be good for us to see him like that anyway. Lance was a very tactile guy, not being able to touch wouldn’t work very well for anyone involved.”

The rest of the team looked at me agape. At least they didn’t look angry.

“We’ll defeat Zarkon for Lance, we’ll do it for his memory, not his hologram. Plus, I’m pretty sure Lance would have gone stir-crazy and be lonely all the time. No, it’s best that he’s at peace."

Keith nodded, letting go of Shiro and leaving the room purposefully. Shiro hesitated for a moment before also nodding and leaving. Coran, Allura, and Pidge agreed as well, fond smiles on some of their faces as they too left.

We would be okay. It was too quiet, but that was okay. We would fill the silence with remembrances of Lance’s life, celebrating everything he had been.

The Castle of Lions would become home again.

**Author's Note:**

> I'M NOT CRYING, YOU'RE CRYING!
> 
> Anyway, what did you think? As I said at the beginning, this story didn't turn out how I thought it would. I was going to have Lance be a hologram, and be like a guiding force behind Voltron, but... I couldn't do it. He's so vibrant, so full of life, I couldn't do that to him. I thought it would be better for everyone if they let him go properly. Kind of gave them a chance to say goodbye you know?
> 
> I can't believe I actually completed something. Like, I've never before completed a fanfiction in my life. I have over a dozen fanfictions started on my OneNote, but this is the first time I've completed one.
> 
> Please, comment below and tell me what you thought!


End file.
